Yacon Syrup (Organic, Peruvian)

This premium sweetener is extremely low on the Glycemic Index, so it hardly impacts blood sugar — great news for diabetics, low-carb dieters, and people who prefer sustainable energy over the post-sugar blues.
Organic Yacón syrup adds character to teas and dessert recipes, imparting a natural caramel flavor with hints of molasses.
Organic Yacón’s Syrup's sweet flavor comes primarily from indigestible sugars called Fructooligosacarides (FOS), which make it an extremely low-glycemic, high-fiber alternative to sugar-rich sweeteners.

A truly low-glycemic sweetener that won’t spike blood sugar

Half the calories of honey!

Lighter color, sweeter flavor than high-heat yacon: more like caramel than molasses

Pesticide-free yacon

Tests higher in FOS than typical yacon syrup"

More Details

Source & Process

Purity from the source

Essential Living Foods is committed to providing foods of the highest quality, pure, and nutrient dense Yacon Syrup. As with every ingredient we sell, this pure Yacon Syrup is sustainably sourced to improve the health of the planet and its people.

Visiting Yacon farms in Peru

USDA Certified Organic Yacon

This is the ONLY Certified Organic low-temperature (raw) extracted Yacon syrup on the market, the finest available. It has taken years of research, experimentation and organic inspection to bring this product to market. There are other sources of Yacon but they are all conventional, not something you want from a food grown directly in the soil. Ours also has a noticeably lighter flavor and color due to its lower temperature processing and brief pasteurization.

We pay our farming partners exceptionally well for their hard work and compliance with our exacting quality standards, so this is a fair, feel-good, premium product.

Pure Yacon from the Peruvian Highlands

This Yacon root grows in the highlands of Peru, a very pure region with incredibly nutrient-rich soil. Only the finest roots are selected for processing into syrup. It takes 14 pounds of fresh Yacon roots to make one pound of yacon syrup. The freshly-harvested yacon roots are transported to a state-of-the-art, USDA/NOP certified facility that handles no chemicals or contaminants. The roots are washed with purified water (which is machine-filtered on-site). No solvents, alcohols or cleaners are used.

Organic Yacon farm in Peru

Raw yacon syrup

Verified Raw Yacon Syrup

After washing, the roots are peeled, then milled and crushed, and a small amount of antioxidant ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is added to prevent oxidation. The resulting pulp is then centrifuge-filtered, spilling fresh yacon root juice into stainless steel tanks. This juice is then vacuum-dehydrated under 40° C / 105° F, creating a thick syrup, rich with flavor and nutrients. The final syrup is filtered and flash pastuerized at 80° C / 176° F before bottling. The syrup is shipped in sealed drums to our pristine organic, kosher, gluten-free facility for bottling.

The Ripple Effect

You are powerful

This small farmer cooperative sourced Yacon root is your vote for a better world. Across the planet, we seek the finest superfoods and pay a premium for the exceptional craftsmanship of small farmers, cooperatives, and indigenous communities. We also give back 1% to local non-profits like Amazon Watch, who protect the land and the communities who depend on it.

Every Product has an origin

and an impact

You stand at the finish line of an amazing journey with a miraculous beginning: Soil, Water, Sunshine...and Seed. With care and craftsmanship, Life unfolds, blossoms, and thrives. No chemicals needed. Just skill, hard work, and love for the land.

Every point on this map is a place that you touch. A farm. A community. An economy. An ecosystem.

Yacon Syrup Nutrition Facts

Smallanthus sonchifolius

Yacon syrup has several incredible health benefits, for everything from lowering your intake of carbs and maintaining balanced blood sugar to improving digestion and immune function. It's also a whole food sweetener, containing a variety of nutrients (unlike sugar and even honey).

Lighter color, sweeter flavor than high-heat yacon: more like caramel than molasses

Source of Potassium

May improve calcium absorption

May increase B vitamin synthesis

May help lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels

Does contain traces of fructose and sucrose, but a fraction of the FOS quantity

Pre-biotic: Fructooligosaccharides

Yacon contains an abundance of Fructooligosaccharides (FOS) — unique sugars that can actually feed the friendly bacteria in your intestinal tract. This is why Yacon is often referred to as a prebiotic— it provides benefits similar to consuming probiotics.

Yacon is the world's richest natural source of FOS (Fructooliosaccharides). Most other roots and tubers store carbohydrates as starch – a polymer of glucose. Yacon stores carbohydrate mainly as FOS – a large, indigestible fiber made of smaller sugars. This FOS can be considered a subgroup of inulin because they have a similar molecular structure, but with shorter fructose chains. Humans can not absorb FOS — the human body has no enzyme to hydrolyze it — so it passes through the digestive tract unmetabolized, providing no calories. (There are other sugars present in yacon besides FOS, but in much smaller amounts. See low-carb section below).

The undigested portion of yacon passes along the intestines and reaches the colon, where it serves as food for friendly bacteria such as Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus. In this way, there is more proliferation of bacteria beneficial for human health, instead of other types of harmful bacteria that promote fungus, yeast and toxins, such as E. Coli, Clostridium and Staphylococcus aureus. These toxic bacteria feed on the ordinary sugars present in most diets, but FOS helps to "starve" them and "feed" the good guys, helping them to prevail in the body's flora. The fermentation of FOS also helps lower the pH in the colon, which contributes to halting the development of rotting bacteria.

The balance for a group of bacteria depends mainly on the food we eat every day. Clinical studies have shown that administering FOS can increase the number of these friendly bacteria in the colon while simultaneously reducing the population of harmful bacteria.

Low-Glycemic

Because the vast majority of its sugars can’t be absorbed, Yacon syrup is low-glycemic and low in net carbs. This makes it more suitable for anyone with blood sugar problems or following a low-carb or anti-candida diet.

Several studies have shown that the consumption of FOS does not increase the level of sugar in the blood, including people with Type 2 Diabetes. (Alles et al., 1999). Although yacon is primarily FOS, it does also contains fructose and sucrose. However, a study at Cayetano Heredia University in Peru showed that yacon had very low post-prandial glycemic effect on people with Type 2 diabetes, suggesting it may be safe for diabetics (Seclén et al., 2005). Diabetics should consult with their doctors and health care providers before consuming yacon or other low-glycemic sweeteners.

Other Potential Health Benefits of Yacon

The probiotics promoted by FOS have been linked to various beneficial effects on human health, such as:

Better absorption of calcium and other minerals

Probiotic increase in B vitamin synthesis

Overall immune improvement

Reduced risk of gastrointestinal infections

Reduced risk of colon cancer and possibly others

Increased production of short-chain fatty acids such as butyrate

Improved elimination of toxic compounds.

Potentially increased bone density

Reduction of cholesterol and triglyceride levels

Decreased calorie intake for weight loss

Immunity and Yacon Syrup

Preliminary clinic studies from Buddington et al. (2001) and Baynes & Varley (2001) suggest fructanes have an indirect stimulating effect on the immune system. The subjects in the study that received FOS supplements were significantly more resistant, and even immune to systematic infections by certain pathogens like Candida albicans and Listeria monocytogenes.

Cholesterol & Triglycerides and Yacon Syrup

Preliminary clinic studies from Delzenne et al. (1993 and 1995), Fiordaliso et al. (1995, Kok et al. (1996) and Andersson et al. (2001) show that the consumption of FOS can lower the level of lipids in the blood. These results coincide with those shown in the clinical study by Yamashita et al. (1994), which demonstrates a significant reduction in levels of cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood of the participants that received FOS supplements.

Calorie Reduction and Yacon Syrup

The root of yacon is one of the foods with the lowest caloric contents. With only 15-20 kcal/100g, it is a helpful tool for addressing obesity.

Diabetic Friendly Yacon Syrup

The common factors that contribute to developing diabetes are, among others, being overweight, or having high cholesterol, triglycerides and glucose in the blood. Thanks to its effect on lipids in the blood, as well as FOS’s ability to sweeten without being digested, the root of yacon is an excellent alternative for low calorie diets for diabetics. The Yamashita et al. (1984) study reported an improvement in cholesterol levels and glycemic index in patients with diabetes type 2 that included FOS in their diets for several days. Moreover, another study by Mayta et al. (2001) demonstrated that subjects clinically healthy that were fed fresh root of yacon showed a reduction in glycemic levels. These results should be corroborated by other studies.

Mineral Absorption and Yacon Syrup

The clinical study by Van der Heuvel et al (1999) demonstrated a significant increase in the absorption of calcium among teenagers that received FOS supplements. The studies conducted by Coudray et al. (1997) suggested a 21 to 34% increase in calcium absorption among subjects that received a diet with extra fructanes. Preliminary clinical studies from Delzenne et al (1995), Ohta et al. (1995) and Takahara et al (2000) showed the first positive results of these effects in animals. Also, Takahara et al. (2000) showed an increase in bone mineral density, and calcium absorption in the bones in a preliminary clinical study of FOS consumption. Ohta et al. (1998) reported less reduction of bone mass, calcium and phosphorous in the bones of animals that received continuous supplements of FOS.

Colon Cancer and Yacon Syrup

According to the National Cancer Institute, colon cancer is the second cause of death among patients with varied types of cancer. Many preliminary clinical studies demonstrate that the intake of FOS reduce the risk of developing pre-cancerous lesions in the colon, and reduces the development of bacteria that produce metabolites linked to colon cancer, reducing the emergence of tumors in the small intestine and the colon.

Elimination and Yacon

Clinical studies from Alles et al. (1996) and Kleessen et al. (1997) show that the consumption of fructanes increases the frequency of bowel movements and the volume of fecal mass. The Andersson et al. (2001) study shows that FOS can have a laxative effect. These properties are linked to less constipation.

Cost

Our premium yacon syrup costs more than other alternatives, but few can come close to the quality and nutritional benefits of this amazing sweetener. Ours is the only organic, low-temperature extracted yacon syrup available, and it is produced in an exceptional facility purpose-built in the Peruvian highlands for cutting-edge purity and quality.

This is an extremely land and labor-intensive food. Each pound of syrup requires 14 pounds of raw yacon root, and each root must be dug up from the ground by hand. We pay our farming partners exceptionally well for their hard work and attention to detail, so this is a fair, feel-good global product.

A Note on Consuming Yacon

Because of its prebiotic effects, some people may experience gas or bloating when consuming yacon. Small amounts do not seem to affect most people, but large amounts can produce abdominal discomfort – not because it’s unhealthy – but because there’s a strong shift in your intestinal microflora where good bacteria “off-gases” as it reproduces. Again, this usually only happens with large quantities (over two tablespoons in a serving).

Most people find that they do best when starting off with small amounts of yacon and gradually increasing over a few weeks as their intestinal flora adjust and rebalance. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please consult your doctor or health care expert for personal recommendations.

DELICIOUS WAYS TO USE YACON SYRUP

A sweeter sweet

Use yacon syrup in place of cane sugar, honey, or agave to sweeten tea, coffee, cereal, baked goods, and desserts. Yacon can be used anywhere you need a sugar substitute. It goes perfectly with Raw Cacao Nibs, and adds rich sweetness to desserts, recipes, coffee and tea.

Because of Yacon's prebiotic qualities, you should give your digestive system and internal probiotics time adjust to it: start with small amounts of yacon before increasing usage.

Recipes

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